Only Time Will Tell
by FaceHoofStoriesINC
Summary: the mane six find themselves pulled into a fight to protect their high school from a familiar antagonist
1. Morning In Ponyville Shimmers

*DISCLAIMER: anything that is copyrighted doesn't belong to me. Rated T for serious violence in later chapters. Enjoy!*

Twilight Sparkle hummed happily to the tune on her car's radio as she made the ten minute drive to school.

From the moment she had woken up this morning, she knew today would be a good day. The only thing that would object was her normal bed head. She solved that problem with a few whacks from a brush and continued the morning without another obstruction.

She pulled into the parking lot of Ponyville Highscool. Over the summer the once diminutive school had been constructed into a much larger facility to compensate for the expected growth of the town's population. She parked her car in the senior parking lot. She looked at her watch and was shocked to see she still had a fair half an hour before home room began.

She decided to make the best of the situation. She pulled out her phone and sent a group message. 'Meet me in the parking lot.' Within minutes she received five agreeing replies.

After about five more minutes of nodding her head to out of date songs, twilight was faced with the low rumble of a large engine. She looked to her right just in time to see a familiar 2014 Ford Mustang pull into the spot next to her. She rolled the passenger side window down and was immediately met with a burst of loud music. The song had no lyrics and sounded distinctly like an android apocalypse. The car's owner turned down the music and turned to face twilight. "Hey twi. How's it going?"

Twilight responded shutting off her engine. "Great. How about you? I'm surprised to see you up this early."

"That makes two of us." Rainbow Dash said silencing her own engine and stepping out of the light blue car. Twilight joined her and they began to banter leaning against their respective vehicles.

They had an unlikely friendship: a bookworm and a jock. But those were common in Ponyville. For instance, Twilight's grade held two sets of oddly matched girls. A dj was nearly inseparable with a cellist and a cool and collected girl was never seen without her mess of a disorderly friend.

Twilight looked across the parking lot under the attraction of another large engine. This one belonged to a red Chevy pick up nearing 30 years old. The truck pulled into the space beside Dash's car and was forced into a slumber. The blonde driver swung open the door and hopped out. "Hey y'all. What's up?" She said with a charming smile.

"Hey AJ." Dash said turning toward the southern girl and tapping her fist with her own. The next arrival was a bike. The young girl riding the bike pulled up to the her friends and greeted them gleefully. "Hi girls. How's it going?" The teens responded warmly to their comrade. Comments about the weather and Fluttershy's pretty outfit were drowned out by another car pulling into the parking lot.

A dark blue BMW pulled in next to Twilight's car with its top down. "Hello." The purple haired girl called elegantly. "Hey rarity." Twilight said. "Now we're only missing pinkie." She said clapping her hands once.

"I thought I saw her car in town." Dash said studying the land around the parking lot. For a moment or so the five girls surveyed the area in search of their friend.

Applejack was first to spot what she did not doubt was the girl's substitute for transportation. "Guys." She with said her back to her friends. "I think I found her." The other girls turned and gasps at the sight. A huge pink parade float came crawling into the parking lot.

With two sharp beeps the float came to halt in the middle of the parking lot. "You guys!" Pinkie exclaimed exiting her makeshift vehicle. "I made a float!"

"That's great pinkie" dash called back. "But... Why?"

"Well." Pinkie began leaning on her masterpiece. "Last year I signed up to be on this year's senior planning committee. I obviously made it, but who would've thought they'd make me president. So over the summer I started working on a project for homecoming. Then I had the idea to have a parade! So I got a little ahead of myself and made this bad boy. I'm gonna show the rest if the committee, today."

The girls looked at her nodding slowly. "Anyways." Dash said dragging out the word. "What'd you call us here for, twilight?" She asked.

"I just figured we should hangout before school." Twilight replied. "It's a great day for it."

And it was. The sun was shining. Birds were singing. It was a beautiful August morning. It seemed like nothing could ruin it. Except maybe the girl around the corner whispering sternly to her henchmen. "Who are they?" She hissed angerly.

"I don't know." Said the youngest of the henchmen. She pushed her glasses up her nose and continued. "They all just showed up."

"It is a public school. And it's only like 15 minutes before home room." Said the other young girl as she straightened her posh tiara.

"She's right." Said the third companion of the fiery girl. "We'll just stay out of their way. They probably don't even know we're here." He said crossing his arms.

"They better not." The frightening girl said stepping closer to the boy. "If this goes south it's on you."


	2. Intimate get-together

Time 2

The six girls sat at an outdoor lunch table chatting merrily. The morning had passed rather quick. It was just past noon now, and the girl were enjoying their much-needed meals. It was business as usual until a peculiar announcement rang through the nearby speakers.

"Will the following student please report to the principal's office." Vice Principal Luna's voice. Casual and monotone like she alway is. Then, a shock came. Six very familiar names were listed by the vice principal.

"Thank you." She ended and with the sound of the phone being put down, the girls looked at eatchother with unknowing faces.

"What d'ya think that was about." Applejack asked, looking around the table at her friends.

"It's Luna. There's no way to tell just by her voice." Twilight said beginning to stand. "But it sounded important (like everything she ever says), so we better get a move on."

The girls all removed themselves from the round table and walked into the cafeteria to dump their trays. They found eyes of every senior looking at them nonchalantly. They pushed through the uncomfortable air and made their way into the main hall.

Each girls thought of a dozen questions they could ask the others, but restrained them knowing they would not get answers. So they simply walked looking forward.

The girls arrived at the office, and twilight reluctantly stepped forward and knocked on the door. Almost immediately Luna opened the door. She studied the girl's faces for a second then turned her head and spoke into the room. "They're here."

See turned back to the girls and spoke to the floor. "Come in." She seemed more nervous than any of the teens.

The girls entered the large office and found their principal leaning on her desk and glaring across the room at a blank wall. She opened her mouth to speak but waited for a moment to do so. She had obviously not planned this meeting. "Good afternoon girls." She finally said. "I called you here today because I am scared." She froze still absently stalking the wall.

"I trust you all more than anyone else in the student body." She continued after a moment of awkward silence. "This room holds a planning committee and band leader. The leader of wardrobe for all sports and activities. The leader of the mechanical engineering club as well as the agriculture club. The first response and community service president. The captain of almost every women's sports team at the school. And finally, my own personal pupil and the President of multiple academic organizations. Six leaders. Six people I am depending on."

Celestia finished her speech with a grave look toward each girl. Luna stepped forward to continue the lecture. "We're in trouble." She said matter-of-factly. "We're expecting some sort of attack within the school year. We have a team formed entirely of trustworthy students we would like you to join. The other members will be here shortly."

"Attacks?" Applejack asked skeptically. "What kind of attacks?"

"We don't know." Celestia answered answered. "But we've heard rumors that were not to be taken lightly."

Suddenly, the door burst open allowing the entrance of four girls. "Sorry we're late." The first one said. She had short, greenish hair and waving bangs. She wore dark jeans and a buttoned shirt matching her hair.

"You're just on time, Lyra." Celestia said welcomingly. "Please, come in and get comfortable. Perhaps you can help us shed some light on the situation." She finished as the girls filed into the room.

"These are the new members?" A girl with dark blue hair and purple shades glasses said with a cocked brow. "The six most popular girls in the school?" Popularity was not hard to come across at Ponyville High, but the girls had definitely earned it.

"Yes." Celestia answered nodding slowly. "Have you found anything involving my suspicions?" She asked changing the topic.

"Vinyl and I suspect the new girl." Said a sophisticated-looking girl.

"How are these suspicious justified, Octavia?" Luna asked seriously.

"We've been following her around a bit and found some interesting..."

"No justification needed." Celestia said cutting off the girl. "I have no doubt Sunset Shimmer is behind these rumors."

"I'm sorry." The fourth girl whom had large purple and blue hair said. "Who is Sunset Shimmer?"

"A past companion of mine, bon bon. Her position was similar to Twilight's. However, she was less... Agreeing than Twilight. This led to a bit of a rebellion. She left the school not to be seen again again for four years. I knew upon her enrollment there would not be warm reuniting between us. I fear she has in fact come back seeking revenge."

A lurking silence filled the room. Luna was the one to break it. "Ok. I think the procedure is clear. You all must investigate Sunset Shimmer and figure out her plan."

"She's right." Celestia followed. "Get out there and return any information you find to either of us. Remember: no one can know you are doing this. Sorry to interrupt your lunch, but understand that your jobs are very important. Dismissed."

With that the ten girls filed out of the office and lingered outside. "So..." Said Lyra, the runner up to Applejack as the tallest of the ten girls. "You guys really think it's Shimmer?"

"I think" began Octavia. "the topic deserves a formal meeting in a private space."

We can use Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack volunteered. "Just drive west until you've reached a dust road."

"Splendid." Octavia said taking note in her phone. We can meet this weekend. Is it a date?" The other girls murmured their agreements and turned toward their next classes.


	3. Mandatory Meeting

Time 3

Applejack sat on her porch watching a caravan of cars traveling the dirt road to her family farm. The cars pulled up one by one and found resting spots in the grass. As the dust they'd kicked up settled, young girls stepped from the cars. The girls marched toward the farmhouse importantly. They walked across the manicured lawn and were welcomed into the house by AJ.

Once the entire crew had settled in the house, Bon Bon stood in the center of the living room and cleared her throat. "Ok. So we're not gonna waste time with an initiation for our new members here. We need to get straight to business. The suspect has been seen on school property before and after hours with five other students. We have no identification for them."

"The way I see it," dash began from her seated position on the couch. "we have two choices for these circumstances. Send in a spy or wait around and see what she does."

"Sending in a spy would be far too risky." Rarity put in. "We can't afford to force anyone across enemy lines."

"We should set up a trap." Pinkie shouted from the kitchen. She walked in holding a tray of colorful cupcakes and continued. "We should find out what she's going to attack and cut her off before she gets to it."

That's a great idea." Lyra said hopping up to grab a cupcake. "We'll sideswipe her without her even knowing."

"I agree." Octavia said. "But how will we figure out what she wants?" The girls lingered on the her question.

Twilight buried her face in her hands, deep in concentration. She was beat. The looks on everyone else's faces said they were as well. "What do you guys usually do?" Twilight asked muffled by her hands.

"Before Shimmer came along," Bon Bon began. "We were just glorified hall monitors." Lyra finished.

"I say we should all go home and think about this." Dash said, stressed from thought. "We'll carry on private investigations at school."

The girls agreed to her proposal solemnly and said their goodbyes to each other before turning to the door. Applejack stood on the porch bidding her new and old friends goodbye. As Rainbow Dash began out of the house, she grabbed the jock's elbow, and pulled her out of line. "I wanna talk to you alone." She whispered.

Once all the cars had started of the dusty path except a sleek Mustang, Applejack went back into the house, followed by her closest friend. She collapsed into the recliner in the corner of the room. She leaned back with her eyes closed as Dash perched on the arm of the chair. "I'm scared, Rainbow." She said after a moment of awkward silence.

"If what?" Dash asked with a slight grin.

"I know this seems small, but.. I don't know. I just feel like it's gonna get outa hand."

Rainbow Dash slid into the farm girl's lap affectionately. "We'll be ok." She purred.

"I don't know. I just can't help but worry. I just want this to turn out ok."

"What is there to be afraid of really?" Dash questioned cuddling against her friend. "All we have to do is bring down this punk and be crowned heroes. Simple."

"Yea, but what if it's not that simple. What if..."

"AJ calm down. It'll be okay. Trust me."

Applejack did trust Dash. More than almost anyone else she knew. So she tried as hard as she could to push it from her mind and rest. The girls fell asleep and stayed there for rest of the peaceful afternoon.

Applejack found it hard ,however, to fall asleep again after her soothing friend had left. The next few weeks brought more complications: meaningless meetings with the crew and sleepless nights. It was less than a month into the school year and stress was already building inside all ten of the girls. On the bright side, home coming was around the corner. At least Pinkie was happy.

While the dance generated a bit of hype, the girls knew it would not as enjoyable as they wished. Applejack was on catering, Pinkie Pie had committee duties, and Vinyl was assigned to be the dj. Maybe something surprising would happen. Only time will tell.


	4. Tonight's the Night

Time 4

10 teenagers sat boredly around the farm house's homey living room. They all wore dresses and makeup and well-groomed hair. It was a warm Saturday afternoon near the end of august. The girls had agreed to meet up for a weekly meeting before attending homecoming. However, with no clues to lead the meeting, it had become another awkwardly boring affair leaving the girls sprawled across the furniture and floors despite Rarity's pleas to keep the fabrics clean.

After hours of pointless small talk, it was finally Time to make way to the event. To make things simple, everyone drove separately except the car-deprived Fluttershy. The ride was short but generated much excitement for each girl was finally looking forward to something.

The caravan pulled into the parking lot and separated to find parking spots. This was not a complicated chore as the girls had shown up early. They all met at the door and happily paid their ways into the school. After meeting inside the gymnasium, they all began to enjoy themselves.

Pinkie's parade idea had been shot down, but the float was still in use, sitting atop the stage set up in the gym. The entire student body showed up within ten minutes and soon everyone was crowded in the gym swaying to the electric beat provided by Vinyl. As she took the stage the crowd of energetic teens chanted her stage name. "Pon-3! Pon-3!" Octavia smiled watching her best friends awe-inspiring performance.

"Hey Octavia." Octavia snapped out of trance and turned toward the origin of the voice. She waved toward her tall friend.

"Hello Lyra. Pretty dress."

"Thanks." Lyra said, waving her teal dress. "Rarity really outdid herself, huh?"

"Indeed." Octavia said turning her attention back toward the stage. Lyra cam closer until they were standing shoulder to shoulder.

"She's something, isn't she?" Lyra said watching Vinyl pump her fist to the beat.

"Oh definitely." Octavia beamed.

Suddenly the upbeat music slowed down. It was still had a heavy beat just quieter. "Let's have a slow dance, shall we?" Vinyl said into the mike. She removed her glasses and headphones before strolling off the stage and shuffling through the crowd to find Octavia. Once she reached her friend she extended one hand and slightly bowed her head. Octavia chuckled and took her hand.

Octavia gasped as the other girl whirled her around the dance floor following every beat and tempo change of the smooth song. The girls giggled as the galloped around the dance floor. The track began to skip and jump, the volume rapidly changing.

"Vinyl," Octavia started "this is not a proper dance song.

Vinyl stopped move and concentrated on the music. "That's not how it's supposed to sound." She said. "Hold on." She made her way across the gym and walked onto the stage. She toggled around with the high-tech systems involved in her dj stand. After a few moments of digging around she figured the problem was simply bad internet connection. Then, a crazy idea shoved itself into Vinyl's.

She turned on the mic and spoke into it clearly. "Hey guys. Everybody having a good time?" She was met with a positive cheer from the crowd. "Great. Ok. I gotta take a break. In the mean time and the queen time... Uh... Here. Listen to the musical stylings of my cellphone." She dug into her hand bag and extracted her smart phone. She pugged in the aux cord and set her music to shuffle. "Ok.. Uh. See you guys."

Ignoring the confused murmurs from the crowd, she bounded off the stage and made her way to Octavia who was standing nearby with a confused look. "Tavi," Vinyl began. "We need to find one of the principals."

Octavia looked back at her skeptically. "You don't think this is..." She froze for a moment. "Come on."

They both started toward catering. They were cut off by Luna halfway. "Vice Principal Luna." Octavia said. "I'm glad we ran Into you. We think..."

"So do I." Luna said without warning. "Gather the rest of the crew and find them. Be careful." She disappeared onto the crowd without looking back. "Strange woman." Octavia breathed. They continued toward the catering table where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were chatting fondly.

"Girls we have a problem." Octavia said quietly, leaning over the table. "Like a big problem." She continued. "One we've been anticipating for like a month."

The girls clicked into realization. "Well, let's getta move on." Applejack said. They paraded through the gym, dragging along the other members of the crew. Eventually all ten girls were marching down the hallway.

"Ok." Vinyl said stopping the pack in the main hall. "They're using a large amount of internet which means they're on a computer. They probably didn't lug their own laptop in here, so we'll assume they're on a school computer. But which one?"

"Well," Lyra slowly began. "The easiest computers to get into would be the ones in the tech lab."

"And that's where the wifi source is." Vinyl added with a finger in the air. "Let's move."

With that the girls were sprinting down the hall, their first capture in the bag. 'Maybe this isn't as hard as I thought it would be.' Applejack thought.


	5. After Party

Time 5

Two boys sat in the high school's computer lab. "Hurry!" One whispered to the other.

"I'm trying." The taller boy whispered back, sternly. "Ok. I think we're in. What's the other account's name?"

"Uh.." The short, stout boy dug around in his blazer, finally pulling a folded paper out of his pocket. "Pink Sky Transfers."

"Ok." The boy at the computer typed

rapidly despite the weakening connection. "And send." He said with a final. Click. The boys watched as a downloading bar began to slowly slide to the left. Before it was a tenth of the way complete, the website lagged and closed.

The boys stared at the screen wide eyed. "Snips." The short one said.

"Yea snails." The lanky boy replied dazedly.

"We messed up."

"I know."

The boys' shock was increased by the swinging open of the door across the room. Both boys instinctively threw their arms up and pointed at each other. Then, they realized it wasn't who they expected.

"These morons?" Applejack exclaimed with her hands on her hips. "They're why we ran across the school in dresses."

"AJ." Twilight scolded. "Be nice." She turned to the sophomores and continued in a polite but stern voice. "What ares you guys doing?"

"Uhh.. Playing happy wheels." The shorter one said with an unconvincing smile.

"Really snails?" The other boy said

That's what you're going with?"

"Step aside." Dash said shoving past the defensive students. She wiggled the mouse and stared at the screen. After a moment a menus appeared.

"The download crashed due to connection problems" Dash read aloud. "Ten percent of the download was completed; would you like to continue." She stopped and turned to the boys who were smiling innocently. "What were you downloading?" Dash asked through narrow eyes.

"Happy wheels?" The one called snails said. The girls were not buying it. "Run snips!" He yelled. Both boys bolted toward the door.

All ten girls snapped into action blitzing out the door and down the hall. Rainbow Dash drifted ahead of the other girls and closer to the subjects. Once she was close she launch herself at the ankles of the nearest target. Snails fell to the floor along with his tackler. "Save yourself." He shouted dramatically.

But as snips huffed and puffed, he looked back to see applejack maintaing a stead pace. She performed a similar stunt to Dash's, grabbing snip's shoulder as they both tumbled. The others caught up, panting and gathered around. "That was miserable." Rarity said.

"Are you kidding." Dash said nearing the group snail's shirt collar in her fist. "That was great! I needed that, really. I haven't ran like that since track season. Let's do it again." She finish hopping on her toes.

"Some of us," Bon Bon started sprawled out on the ground. "Are not as athletic as you." Her cyan haired friend looked down on her with her hands on her hips. "How are you thin?" She ask hollowly.

"Girls." Twilight said, calling the group to her attention. "We need to find Celestia or Luna. I'm sure they would both love to hear about this."

"The dance is almost over." Pinkie said, checking the time on her phone.

"Vinyl, go give the crowd an excuse for leaving." Twilight said.

"What do you want me to say?"

I don't know. Say Octavia got sick. Just give them a reason; they'll fall for anything." Vinyl nodded and began to run toward the gym. "The rest of you need spread out and find one of the principals. Meet up in the cafeteria. Dash, stay with me and help keep these guys under control."

With that, seven girls flared out in search for their principals while two walked toward the cafeteria. Once they arrived, they sat opposite the boys they had taken into custody.

"We're gonna interrogate them, right?" Dash whispered, leaning slightly toward Twilight.

"Yes." Twilight responded softly.

"Can I be the bad cop?" Dash whispered eagerly.

"Uh... Sure."

"Alright!" Dash said lifting herself to a seated position on the table. "Who's the mastermind here?"

The boys stared at her cluelessly. "Well? Neither of you are smart enough to do this. Who's behind it?"

The boys seals their mouths defiantly. Dash opened her mouth to speak again but her voice was cut off by that of Luna's. "You boys are in a crater, aren't you?" She said smiling. Her heels clicked and her her dark dress gleamed as she walked in the cafeteria. "You can climb out or dig it deeper. It's your choice. All you have to do is tell us what you were downloading."

"Money." Lyra said leaning against a pillar. "They were downloading money. From the the school's bank account to their own."

Luna slowly turned her head from Lyra to the boys. "Is this true." They look up at Luna with terrified looks. "Girls. You're dismissed."

Without being told twice, the girls filed out. "Meet up at my place." AJ shouted to the group. Everyone shouted back their agreeing statements before jogging to their vehicles.


	6. Suspicions rise

"How did you know?" Fluttershy asked, sitting on the counter.

"I just put two and two together." Lyra answered from across the large kitchen of the farm house.

"It does make sense when you think about it." AJ put in taking a bite of a red apple. "The school's loaded from the renovations. It's logical to assume someone would want it."

"But who's idea was it to hack the school's bank account." Vinyl said pulling her head out of the fridge. "I never pay for music, but I wouldn't bother with hacking. That's a pretty serious thing."

"It was obviously Shimmer." Dash called out from the kitchen table where her Pinkie and Bon Bon were playing go fish. "Even Celestia thinks so."

"You can't just blame her without having any evidence." AJ said between bites of her apple.

"Are you kidding?" Pinkie said throwing down her cards. "Everything about that girl screams 'bad guy'."

"You're the only one screaming anything, darling." Rarity said, studying pinkie's cards.

"Pinkie has a point." A short boy with green hair sitting in the corner spoke for the first time. "You can't deny she's trouble."

"Yeah." Fluttershy retaliated. "But, is she evil? Some people are just naturally grumpy."

"If you ask me," spike said, gesturing for Vinyl to pass him a soda. "She's bad news. Prime suspect. That's all there is to it."

"What about Snips and Snails?" Fluttershy said with a worried tone. "What do you think the principals did to them?"

"Interrogation. Then jail." Twilight said with finality."

The same words were said in a similar fashion to another group of students at another meeting. This one was held in at the elementary school's playground. Four students sat on monkey bars and swing watching their breath linger in front of them.

"They went to jail?" One of the two freshmen girls asked from on top of the monkey bars.

"Duh." The only male at the meeting said leaning against a pole with his hands in his pockets. "They're not gonna get off with a warning for trying to steal money from the school."

"Yes." The fiery haired girl in the swing said. "They screwed up as was expected."

"Wait." The second freshman said. "You knew they would get caught?"

"Of course." The oldest girl answered. "They were a diversion. Know all those questions people had about attacks on the school have been answered. It was the idiot sophomores, Snips and Snails. Now the school is at peace and all is well."

"That's awful." The youngest girl said in a disgusted manor. "You just used them, and they didn't even know."

"Listen Spoon. You'll understand some day. In this industry, you have put people down sometimes. It's like natural selection. Make them focus on the weak, so you can go farther."

"I don't know." The boy said, shrugging. "It seems a little cruel."

"Oh Flash." The senior girl said rising to stand in front of the boy. "You're so naive, sometimes. That's cute, but it has to go. Now we have ten thousand dollars to spend on supplies. The next attack will go off without a hitch."

She stepped back, turned to the others, and spread her arms. "Okay my little delinquents. Get out of here and get some rest. We have a lot of work to do over the next few months."


	7. Sleepover

"We have a lot of work to do over the next few months." Twilight said dismissing the crew from the farmhouse. "They're going to strike again and we're going to be ready."

But months passed, and nothing happened. Time crawled by slowly as leaves fell and eventually snow. Christmas came along and the group met for the first time in weeks. Seasonal aromas spread across the apple residence from pies to fritters. The girls had agreed to spend the entire week of Christmas together in the farmhouse.

On Wednesday: Christmas Eve, they gathered around the large dining room table accustomed to fit a large number of family members. They exchanged gifts and smiles. That night, they crowded in Applejack's room.

"So Dash." Lyra said without looking up from her board game. "Are you and Soarin not a thing yet?"

"If there's one thing I won't miss after high school, it's rumors." Dash said concentrating on the video game she was playing with AJ. "Me and Soarin are not and never will be a thing. Yeet!" She added, slamming a button on the controller at nearly the same time as AJ shouted. "Horse feathers! Was that you?" Dash simply chucked in response. "The rainbow ninja strikes again."

"You can't avoid rumors." Vinyl said, trying to shove a single ear bud past past Octavia's protective arm. "It's like trying to avoid stupidity. Take that game for example. Every time you turn a corner. Someone's waiting to kill you. No amount of skill or luck can keep you away from it."

"She's right." AJ said standing up. "Let's play a real shooter." She walked toward the console and removed the disc. She removed another disc from its case and installed it in the console. "You wanna fly or gun?" AJ asked. Dash responded with a raised eyebrow. "You'll see."

"What do you mean 'after high school'?" Octavia asked, finally giving in to Vinyl's stubbornness. "College will be exactly the same concept."

"Oh. Well, I haven't told you four, but I'm not going to college. I'm joining the Air Force."

AJ maneuvered the game's menu with a concerned look. "I still don't like that idea. I'm sure you'd be great at it an all but that's a dangerous job."

"Duh." Dash responded with a smirk. "It's the military. But I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'll visit you on holidays."

"You better. You know where I'll be."

"Didn't you fix up that truck?" Twilight asked from from her seated

Position on the bed.

"Twi, if I weren't around, that truck would be a cube of metal the size of your head."

"So you're good with engines. You could be a mechanic. Maybe even a flight mechanic. You could work side by side with Dash."

"No sir-ee. I'm staying right where I belong on this here farm."

"I wish we could all stay in Ponyville." Fluttershy said quietly.

"Me and Octavia will be all over the place with our professions." Vinyl said.

"If my business keeps growing how it is." Rarity started with a sigh. "I'll inevitably have to move headquarters to a bigger city."

"Ok." Lyra said stretching. "I think we've all had enough of this mopey talk. We better get to sleep any ways."

"She's right." Bon Bon added taking the last slice of pizza. "We haven't even made sleeping arrangements."

So the girls set out to make arrangements. Essentially each girl would take a turn getting dressed and return to find less space available. Within a half an hour everyone was semi comfortable in the floor or on the bed. In another, the room was filled with the soft sound of heavy breathing.


	8. Conspiracy

As the snow fell outside, the girls peacefully slept in their resting spots. Only one was uncomfortably shifting in her resting spot on the floor. After a half an hour or so, Lyra got up and exited the room. She paced the halls for a moment, then heard shuffling in the bedroom. She peeked into the room to find her purple and blue haired friend sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Hey!" She whispered loudly. When she had the girl's attention, she gestured out of the room with her head.

"Did I wake you up?" She asked softly when her friend had joined her in the hall.

"Probably." Bon Bon responded tiredly. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Nah." Lyra said. "I've been walking around all night." She said pulling her phone out of her waist band for time reference. She was surprised to see it was already just past 1:30 in the mourning. On Christmas mourning.

She gasped. "It's Christmas. And I got you something." She jogged quietly into the bedroom and leapt over several peacefully sleeping girls. Once she had reached her duffle bag, she dug deep and pulled out a small box with a purple bow lazily strapped to the top. She turned to the girl standing in the doorway and tossed the box.

Bon Bon caught it and reluctantly tipped back the top. Upon seeing the contents, she covered her mouth with one hand. She slowly pulled out a long chain necklace with a yellow and blue metal piece of candy at the end. "Lyra," she said moving her hand to her chest. "It's beautiful."

Lyra hopped back to her friend. "Here. Let me put in on." She took the necklace and stood behind Bon Bon, lower the necklace onto her chest and link it on her back. She stepped back to observe her art.

Bon Bon turned and looked up at Lyra shyly. "You look great." Lyra said hugging Bon Bon. They separated and looked at each other.

"So.." Bon Bon said with a sigh. "How's things?"

Lyra shrugged. "I uh.. I had an interesting dream."

"What about?" Bon Bon asked skeptically.

"Prom. There was another attack. But, this one was real."

"What do you mean real?"

"I feel like the last one was a hoax. A distraction of some kind."

"I think so too." Bon Bon replied with a realist's voice. "We should tell the others tomorrow."

Lyra nodded without enthusiasm. The nod slowly turned to a shaking of her head. "I don't know. What if they think we're crazy?"

"Meh. They already think you're crazy. They'll trust us."

Lyra laughed softly. The conversation carried on for the rest of the morning. At around 8, Twilight walked into the hall looking more tired than either of the sleepless girls. "Hey girls." She said with a groggy smile. "Sleep well."

"Like a baby." Lyra lied. Twilight joined the conversation and one by one, they were joined by each of the other girls.

Finally, the last girl to wake walked into the hall. "How do you do, Dash?" AJ asked happily. Dash's mumbling response was not as cheerful. "Right back at cha." AJ said standing and rustling Dash's hair more than it already was. "Well, I guess we're all up. Let eat some breakfast."

The girls hurried down the stairs and toward the kitchen. The rest of the apple family was already waiting around the oversized kitchen table. "Finally, some chefs." Granny Smith exclaimed. "We've been waiting since nine o' clock."

"Y'all have been sittin' her for an hour?" Applejack asked, removing breakfast items from the freezer and tossing them on the counters.

"Eeyup." Big Mac said, rising from his seat to help AJ. Together, the siblings laid bacon and sausage. They dance around the large kitchen taking shifts at improvised stations. They had obviously done this time and time again.

"Guys." Lyra called out, gaining the attention of the room. "What do you guys think about the attack."

"We've been through this." Dash said. "Shimmer sent Snips and Snails to do a mans job and we crashed the party."

"Yea." Lyra continued, taking a seat at the table. "But, why would she have chosen them to do the job."

"Free labor." AJ said, hold her hands over Big Mac's eyes as he skillfully flipped slabs of bacon. "They'll do anything if they think you have power."

"True." Bon Bon said, sitting beside Lyra. "But let's not forget that they'll take that task and mess it up."

"So you're saying Shimmer wanted them to get caught?" Twilight said from her seat at the table.

"Exactly." Lyra said. "She didn't want money. She wanted attention. That way, when she hits again, which she will, she can hit harder ,and supposedly, no one will see it coming." She leaned back, victoriously observing the group comprehend her analysis.

"So this time," Pinkie said rising from the table. "We have to be prepared."

"And that means shopping spree." Rarity said excitedly. Every groaned at the statement. But the next few day were, indeed spent taking advantage of after Christmas sales. In the end, they were very prepared for whatever may come. Or so they thought.


	9. Group cooperation

"Can anyone tell me why depressions happen?" Mr. Yardstick asked from the front of the class. He was met with flipping of notes from his students. One hand was seen raised, and it was that Twilight Sparkle. "Yes, Twilight."

"Depressions are caused by lack of activity in the economy. When people don't spend money, others can't make money. From then on, it's a domino effect."

"Very good." Mr. Yardstick sighed lazily. "Now, there have been two and a half depressions have a huge impact on national and sometimes global economy. With so many people out of work, people become what you would call 'thirsty' for money. During these times, crime rates are usually up and-"

Mr. Yardstick's speech was cut off by a hand shooting into the air. "Yes, miss Sparkle?"

"You're saying people are drawn to crime when put in financial distress?" Twilight asked wasting time on breath.

"Uhh..." Mr. Yardstick took a moment to comprehend Twilight's question. "I'm no psychologist, but I can tell you the human brain is a strange thing. I assure you in such troublesome times, certain people would definitely be driven to commit unruly and sometimes violent acts."

"What if they don't need money?" Twilight asked leaning over her desk. "What if they just want it?"

"Well, I assume greed and need have very similar affects." Mr. Yardstick replied calmly. "Why is all of this relevant, miss Sparkle?" He asked with a cocked eye brow.

"Uh.. No reason." Twilight said unconvincingly." Just always eager to learn. You know me." She uttered an uncharacteristic laugh, then paused. "May I go to the bathroom?" She asked suddenly.

"Uhh. Yes. By all means, please do."

"Thanks." Twilight said, with an awkward smile. She then sprinted across the room and into the hallway. She whipped out her cell phone and opened a group message with four extra numbers in it. She only sent two words before she was sprinting again. "Courtyard now"

In less than a minute, she was bursting through a set of double doors and into the open field. Not much more time elapsed before her friends began do the same by ones and twos and threes.

Twilight stood on a table and looked upon her group of vigilantes. "Hey." She started nervously. She'd never really decided what she wanted to say. "I called you here today.. Uh... Because I'm scared."

The girls looked at her with puzzled expressions. "What, did you have a bad dream or something?" Dash said.

"No." Twilight said, shoving her fingers into her bangs. "I just.. had a bad feeling."

"What are you trying to say?" Bon Bon asked, looking up at Twilight.

"I just don't think taking on Shimmer will be as easy as we think."

"Uh, we know it won't be easy." AJ said. "We distinguished that over Christmas break."

"Yea. But maybe she stronger than we think she is."

"Darling, wherever are you getting these ideas?" Rarity asked with a concerned look.

"I don't know. I just thought of it in class."

"C'mon Twilight." Dash said. "You gotta get your head in the game of we're gonna take her down."

"Maybe we just shouldn't stuff ourselves into this." Twilight shouted, silencing the group.

Everyone looked at her, clearly shocked. "Twilight," Octavia said in a cool tone. "Principal Celestia personally chose us to stop Sunset Shimmer. We made a promise to protect our school."

"Don't you think this is over our head?" Twilight said defensively.

"I think you need to clear your head." Octavia said, remaining calm.

"They will attack at prom. I'm sure of it. When they do that, weather you're with us or not, we're going to try to stop them."

With that, the nine girls went their separate ways, leaving Twilight on the table, looking rather foolish. She stepped of the table and sat on the seat. Her friends where in trouble. She either had to stop them or the danger. Neither would be easy.


	10. Kidnapped

Weeks passed after Twilight's fight with the rest of the girls, but the tension stayed strong. She often thought about the words her comrades said at their last meeting.

'I think you need to clear your head. They're going to attack at prom. I'm sure of it. And when they do, weather you're with us or not, we're going to try to stop them.'

Octavia never seemed so sure of her own words. Twilight remembered the feeling of standing in front of her friends and being rejected. She shuddered at the thought.

What could she do now? Prom was tonight. Her friends were going to thrust themselves into danger, and they wouldn't let her do anything to stop them. She bumped her forehead into her steering wheel and rested it there. "Think Twilight, think." she said silently.

Finally, Twilight sighed deeply and exited her car. She hastily walked the short distance to the closest entrance. She pulled the door open and walked into the school. As usual, she was early and had beaten the morning traffic.

Twilight started the walk to her home room just as other students began to arrive. She skillfully maneuvered through the crowd of bustling students.

Her room was finally in sight, but her progress was impeded by another student bumping into her. "Sorry." She said crouching to help the girl pick up her scattered books. She looked up and gasps with shock.

"What?" Sunset said. Collecting assorted papers off the ground.

"You." Twilight said pointing a finger. "You're.. You're Sunset Shimmer."

"You've heard of me?" Sunset said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yea..." Twilight stuttered without thinking about her words. "You set up the attack."

Sunset's eyes widened with shock. She failed to utter something then split away, leaving her books on the ground. Twilight ran after her. They weaved through dumbfounded students in a cat and mouse chase.

Coming to a dead end devoid of life, Sunset turned and faced Twilight. Twilight barely managed to stop before colliding with the other girl.

"Who else knows?" Sunset shouted.

"Just me." Twilight lied.

"How did you figure it out?"

"What can I say? I'm a smart girl."

"Yea right. Who told you?"

"No one."

"Who'd you tell?"

"No one."

Sunset growled angrily and lunged herself at Twilight. The unsuspecting girl was caught vulnerable and thrown on her back. She struggled for a moment, but was soon overpowered by the stronger girl.

Sunset hit Twilight once hard, slamming her head against the ground. "Big mistake, Sparkle." She said, dragging her away. She dragged a groggy Twilight into the parking lot which was empty except for assorted vehicles.

Sunset reached a black Chevy Suburban and opened one of the rear doors. She threw Twilight in and slammed the door shut.

Twilight was completely unresponsive as the truck rolled out of the parking lot. She groaned with pain while she lay in the back seat. She heard distant speech as she rolled around the inside of the SUV.

"Sorry, Sparkle." Sunset said, driving recklessly to an unknown destination. "Looks like we're gonna have to mess up your perfect attendance."

After only a few minutes of driving, Sunset screeched to a stop. She looked back to see twilight nearly unconscious. "Come on, Sparkle." She said getting out and opening the rear door. "I didn't hit you that hard." She examined Twilight's blood smeared face. "Well.. Maybe I did."


	11. Captive

Weeks passed after Twilight's fight with the rest of the girls, but the tension stayed strong. She often thought about the words her comrades said at their last meeting.

'I think you need to clear your head. They're going to attack at prom. I'm sure of it. And when they do, weather you're with us or not, we're going to try to stop them.'

Octavia never seemed so sure of her own words. Twilight remembered the feeling of standing in front of her friends and being rejected. She shuddered at the thought.

What could she do now? Prom was tonight. Her friends were going to thrust themselves into danger, and they wouldn't let her do anything to stop them. She bumped her forehead into her steering wheel and rested it there. "Think Twilight, think." she said silently.

Finally, Twilight sighed deeply and exited her car. She hastily walked the short distance to the closest entrance. She pulled the door open and walked into the school. As usual, she was early and had beaten the morning traffic.

Twilight started the walk to her home room just as other students began to arrive. She skillfully maneuvered through the crowd of bustling students.

Her room was finally in sight, but her progress was impeded by another student bumping into her. "Sorry." She said crouching to help the girl pick up her scattered books. She looked up and gasps with shock.

"What?" Sunset said. Collecting assorted papers off the ground.

"You." Twilight said pointing a finger. "You're.. You're Sunset Shimmer."

"You've heard of me?" Sunset said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yea..." Twilight stuttered without thinking about her words. "You set up the attack."

Sunset's eyes widened with shock. She failed to utter something then split away, leaving her books on the ground. Twilight ran after her. They weaved through dumbfounded students in a cat and mouse chase.

Coming to a dead end devoid of life, Sunset turned and faced Twilight. Twilight barely managed to stop before colliding with the other girl.

"Who else knows?" Sunset shouted.

"Just me." Twilight lied.

"How did you figure it out?"

"What can I say? I'm a smart girl."

"Yea right. Who told you?"

"No one."

"Who'd you tell?"

"No one."

Sunset growled angrily and lunged herself at Twilight. The unsuspecting girl was caught vulnerable and thrown on her back. She struggled for a moment, but was soon overpowered by the stronger girl.

Sunset hit Twilight once hard, slamming her head against the ground. "Big mistake, Sparkle." She said, dragging her away. She dragged a groggy Twilight into the parking lot which was empty except for assorted vehicles.

Sunset reached a black Chevy Suburban and opened one of the rear doors. She threw Twilight in and slammed the door shut.

Twilight was completely unresponsive as the truck rolled out of the parking lot. She groaned with pain while she lay in the back seat. She heard distant speech as she rolled around the inside of the SUV.

"Sorry, Sparkle." Sunset said, driving recklessly to an unknown destination. "Looks like we're gonna have to mess up your perfect attendance."

After only a few minutes of driving, Sunset screeched to a stop. She looked back to see twilight nearly unconscious. "Come on, Sparkle." She said getting out and opening the rear door. "I didn't hit you that hard." She examined Twilight's blood smeared face. "Well.. Maybe I did."


	12. Redemption day

Time 12

For the second time in the day, twilight woke with her wrists and ankles bound and her head aching dreadfully. She was sitting on a solid hard ground with someone holding her shoulders steady. She looked up and saw Sunset Shimmer towering overhead.

"Hey, Twilight." She said kneeling on one knee. "Have a nice nap?"

Twilight only snarled in response. It was cut short by a groan of dizzy pain.

"Oh, Twilight." Sunset cooed with mock sincerity. "Please don't be that way. It's prom night. And you'll get a bird's eye view of all the entire night."

"What?" Twilight said crinkling her nose. Sunset snickered and pointed down. Twilight followed the direction of her finger and nearly screamed. She found herself to be sitting on a rafter beam high above the gym floor. Several students were already swaying to a soft beat. Others were filing in. Included in the students that had already come in were her friends whom she had not talked to in weeks.

"Looks fun huh, Twi?" Sunset said studying the crowd. "And none of them no what's going to happen." She let out a short malevolent laugh. "As for you." She continued. "You may or may not be dead at the end of the night. I guess we'll find out."

Sunset lightly touched Twilight's knee with a frighteningly kind smile and stood, balancing on the beam.

She snapped her fingers at whoever was behind Twilight, and before Twilight could turn to see who it was, the person stuffed a rag in her mouth and tied it behind her neck.

"Really, Twilight." Sunset said looking down at her captive. "Try to enjoy yourself, despite the impending doom." She smiled at her own joke and winked before turning away and starting toward the wall.

Twilight watched sunset stalk away with her arms outstretched like a child pretending to be on a tight rope. Suddenly the person behind Twilight gave her shoulder an extremely light shove, tipping her slightly to the left. Twilight kept leaning until she had fallen off the beam. She closed her eyes tight, unable to scream for the gag. With a tight pull at her ankles, Twilight stopped falling.

She was now hanging from her tied ankles like a bat. She felt blood rushing to her head as she swayed like flag in calm weather. She fought her body in a war of consciousness and was slowly losing.

Twilight allowed her head to hang limply. Directly below her, she made out a rainbow colored object, blurred by her dizziness. She eventually decided it was hair, and she knew who it belonged to.

Dash looked around the cafeteria forebodingly. "I don't like this." She said tensely. "I don't see twilight anywhere."

"Ever think she might not have shown up?" Rarity asked, checking out a young man across the floor.

"Not until now." Dash said throwing her head back with frustration. "I can't believe she would do that."

"Relax. Both of you." Lyra said, demandingly. "We're just gonna stop the operation. Eat some cake to celebrate. Every thing's gonna be fine."

Dash inhaled and exhaled deeply, eyes closed. She wanted to believe Lyra, but she just had this feeling. Suddenly a distinct murmur fellows her ears. She opened her eyes and found no light in them. The gym was pitch black. She squinted into the darkness but could see nothing but the outlines of her own hands and and an exit sign lit up red.

Firm hands grasped Dash's shoulders guiding them toward the exit. A familiar southern voice sounded in her ear. "It's show time."

Dash shoved herself through the gym door and into the hall. She was soon followed by the rest of her entourage. The girls stood in the darkness which had carried into the hall and throughout the school.

"Where do we start?" Fluttershy's voice asked from somewhere among the seemingly empty hall.

"The school's power supply. They must be there." Vinyl said.

"Ok. Then what?" Octavia said. "They won't all be in one spot. Especially there."

"They wouldn't be in the computer lab again." Pinkie said with the sure voice of a movie detective. "That's where they want us to go."

"Where else could she be hacking the school from?" Octavia asked.

"Anywhere she wants." Vinyl said. She turned to rest of the group with her pale face lit up by her cell phone. "She's tapped into the schools cell service. She can do what she wants when she wants. Untraceable."

"Vinyl, you're a genius." Octavia said shaking her friend's shoulder.

"Nah, I'm just a DJ. We still have to find her. Any ideas on that?" Vinyl's question was responded to with nothing more than unsure mutters.

Suddenly beams of light shone through the windows of the gym doors, and a voice boomed, muffled by thick walls. The girl exchanged looks in the dim light, and pushed back into the gym. Each of them stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing their fiery haired suspect standing on the stage and speaking calmly.


	13. A Battle Begins

Nine girls stood watching as Sunset Shimmer paced the makeshift stage. "I hope everyone's having a good time." The crowd erupted with cheers as the girls inched closer to the stage. "Great. Great. You all just enjoy your night. Remember, this is prom. It will go down in your personal history."

With a sinister smirk, Sunset rose the mic to the crowd and was met with a uprise of roaring cheers. She turned to walk backstage but was help back by a voice from the crowd. "Stop!" The voice of a young girl rose from the crowd. Sunset slowly turned and studied the crowd. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?" The voice demanded.

AJ grabbed Dash by the forearm. "Rainbow, what're you doing?" She asked. Dash shook from her friends grip and walked closer to the stage.

"How should I know?" Sunset asked defensively.

"Because." Dash climbed onto the stage and stood inches from Sunset. "I think she'd be here if it weren't for you."

A thick silence fell among the entire gym. Every one strained to hear the conversation unfolding in front of them. Sunset stepped closer to Dash, closing the gap between them. "I don't think you know what you're talking about."

Dash looked Sunset in the eye with a serious lack of trust. "I know exactly what I'm talking about."

AJ watched from the edge of the stage, nervously biting her lip and ignoring the pain as blood drew. Sunset came closer to Dash and resisted the urge to hit her. Instead she closed her eyes and spoke slowly. "Look. Up."

Dash stepped away and did so. She saw nothing directly above her, so she studied the roof of the gym the crowd also curiously searching. Finally, an unknown soul release a blood curdling scream at the same time as Dash saw the object of interest. A long, thin hung like pork with straight, purple hair.

Dash nearly fainted as she watched the body hang limply, hovering above the gym. She turned to see Sunset sprinting off the stage. She considered following, but favored her friends instead. She jumped off the stage and joined the other girls. "What do we do?" She asked no trying not to panic.

"First we go for Twilight." Rarity said, stepping to the center of the small circle they'd formed. "If she's alive, she'll figure out the rest."

"And if she's not?" Fluttershy asked, blood draining from her face.

"Then, we'll take measures into out own hands." Lyra said. "But she is. I know she is. Let's move." In a dangerously slow heartbeat, the girls were all up the bleachers.

It was a chore to climb the pipes on the walls and get to the rafters. In the end, Dash was very glad she had pointed out that dresses should be avoided. It was only her, AJ, Vinyl, and Lyra who managed to get all the way up, and deciding to leave the others in favor of time, they set out.

In less than a moment, the four girls had reached the bar from which their friend had been casted. "Ok." Vinyl said breathing hard and clinging to a beam. "Now what?"

"Here." AJ produced a pocket knife from her back pocket. "A southern girl always carries a blade." She tossed the tool to Lyra, who was closet to twilight.

"Thanks." Lyra said pulling the knife open. "But how do I do this with her dropping to her death?"

"You know what, I didn't think about that." AJ mumbled. "Uh. Just pull her up. Shouldn't be to hard." She leapt onto the beam and kneeled next to the securely tied rope. "Here. Help me."

Vinyl was the first to react balancing her way to AJ's side. "Ok." AJ said, thinking through her own plan. "We're gonna grab her ankles and pull until her knees are at the bar, then we're gonna repeat the process until she's sitting on the bar."

"Ready when you are." Vinyl said with an unsure tone. On Applejack's count of three, the two girls reached down and pulled up on Twilight's double knotted sneakers. After a moment of heaving, they held her up by wrapping her legs around the bar.

"Again on three." AJ said, and after another countdown, the girls reached down and tugged at Twilight's waistband. After several hefty reps, Twilight's rear reached the bar. Vinyl pulled at the collar of Twilight's blouse, allowing her to sit on the bar, awkwardly.

"Let her lay down." AJ said pulling one leg over the beam so Twilight was straddling it. "She'll wake up in a minute."

Vinyl nodded and let Twilight's head sink into her lap. "Lyra. Dash. Go tell the others we got here." The other girl obeyed, running off through the rafters. "Come on." She said impatiently tapping Twilight's cheek. Twilight immediately responded with a groan of pain.

"This headache doesn't end." Twilight said, almost inaudibly. The girls smiled at their friend's serious comment.

"I'm sure we can find a pill or something." AJ said, beginning to stand. "But right now, we gotta bigger problem."

"What?" Twilight moaned. Suddenly her eyes shot open with realization. "Where's Shimmer?"


	14. Showcase

Once all ten girls were safely on the ground and had exchanged hugs and apologies, they immediately began devising a plan. "First of all." Twilight started. "I am in pain. Fluttershy, if I got you into the nurse's office, do you think you could fix me up."

Fluttershy shrunk back a bit from the pressure put upon her but replied surly. "If she has the right stuff, I'll know how to use it."

"I know you will." Twilight said with a trusting smile. "Dash, I want you and AJ in your car ready to go after Sunset if she tries to flee."

"You can count on us." Dash said, and with a formal salute, she and AJ were racing toward the parking lot.

"Rarity and Pinkie, I want you to find the principals. Tell them we have a plan."

"What's the plan?" Rarity questioned.

"I don't know." Twilight said applying her face to her palm. "But we'll have one. Just go." Rarity and Pinkie exchanged curious glances before jogging off to find their principals. The girls that remained jobless stepped forward bravely. "I guess that means you'll be facing Sunset." Twilight said with a sigh.

"We're ready." Vinyl said intimidatingly.

"She's backstage, and she's ready for a fight. Be careful. Don't do anything stupid. Just stall her until backup shows up."

Vinyl reached out a hand let it rest on Twilight's shoulder. She said nothing but nodded once. Twilight nodded back, and with that, the girls split ways.

Twilight and Fluttershy went to the other end of the cafeteria and into the still darkened hall. "I don't think they're just tapped into the internet." Twilight said. "They're tapped into the school itself. They can control the lights with the push of a button and who knows what else."

Twilight blabbered some more about how technologically advanced the attack was until they finally found the clinic. "Ok." Twilight said handing Fluttershy her phone, its flash light gleaming. "Hold this. We're about to see if that survival guide was right." She reared back and gave the door a firm kick just above the handle, but the door seemed unaffected.

Twilight scoffed and kicked the door several more times. After a particularly aggressive strike, the door burst open. Twilight walked into the small room, panting tiredly. "That wasn't too hard. Does this place have what you need."

Fluttershy wasted no time before digging into cabinets and cupboards. "Depends. What are your symptoms." She said professionally.

"Uhh." Twilight said examining what she could of herself in the darkness. "My head hurts like nothing else. I've got a few bad cuts. And I've been hanging upside down for who knows how long."

"Take one of these." Fluttershy said tossing Twilight a small container of pills. "I don't really know what to do about hanging upside down, but I have band aids." It was pitch black besides the flash light aimed at the ground, but Twilight could feel Fluttershy's caring smile and swore she heard a soft squee sound.

"I'll be fine." Twilight said. "But, you should take those. Take any thing that might be useful later."

"Ok." Fluttershy said throwing antidotes into a bag. Not a moment passed before she tossed Twilight her phone and headed out.

"Back to the gym." Twilight said jogging past Fluttershy. "Quickly." Without a word, Fluttershy followed in Twilight's footsteps. A small time passed before they reached the doors of the gymnasium. Twilight took a deep breath and shoved the door. She was immediately hit the force of a blinding spotlight.

"Ah. Miss Sparkle." A familiar voice rang though the gym. "How nice of you to join us." Twilight, having adjusted to the light, looked to the stage to find 10 figures standing upon. She recognized four to be her friends. The other six were shimmer, snips, snails, a boy she had never seen, and two girls that were younger than twilight.

"So brave of your friends." Sunset continued, gesturing toward the portion of the group that stood on the stage. "Sadly, they were defeated." Sunset smiled. And looked at her phone. "And would you look at that? I've just successfully transferred 100,000 dollars."

Sunset engaged herself in a victorious walk around the stage as a hand rested on Twilight's shoulder. She whipped around to see Rarity standing behind her. "Hey." She started in a mere whisper. "The principals are back stage. This isn't over, yet."


	15. Runaway

The gymnasium was shrouded with a quiet murmur from the scared students lining the walls. Twilight slowly walked toward the stage, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity on her heels. "What, exactly are we going to do." Rarity whispered from somewhere behind Twilight.

"We're going to distract them and hope the principals do something." Twilight answered. It sounded even stupider out loud than it did in her head.

As the four girls neared the stage the faces of their comrades became clearer. They all held expressions of pain. Each girl had unkept hair and bruised faces. Twilight came right up to the stage and was met by a kneeling Sunset Shimmer. "How does it feel, Twilight?" Sunset said darkly. "To know your little anti thief organization has fallen?"

Sunset held an imaginary microphone out to Twilight. Twilight looked around the gym sacredly. It appeared as if she had indeed lost. Twilight looked back toward Sunset and opened her mouth to speak but found no words. Something behind Sunset caught Twilight's attention.

Under a curtain, Twilight caught a glimpse of a brilliant white dress and another darker than the night. The figures inched toward the middle of the stage. Twilight tried not to stare as the principals revealed themselves gallantly. All they had to do was grab Shimmer. Just throw her to her knees and demand surrender. For Celestia, it would not be this simple.

"Sunset Shimmer." Celestia called with a voice strong enough to carry across an ocean.

Sunset stood and whipped around, her flame-like hair flowing behind. "Ah, Principal Celestia." Sunset cooed as if she wasn't surprised. "I was worried you would not attend."

"What kind of principal would I be if didn't show up my during school's darkest hour?" Celestia asked cooly.

"That's very gracious of you." Sunset said with apparent panic. "But, you're too late. The deed is done."

Celestia sighed once and stepped closer to her young nemesis. "Is it now? Us it really?" She looked at Sunset with a devastating glare. She did not look happy nor mad. Luna stood beside her, pale skin comparing to tan.

Sunset looked between the two and stepped back frightfully, almost falling off the stage. "I'm sorry, Celestia." She said with a tone meant to be intimidating. "But, you lost."

Celestia raised one eyebrow and gave a bemused smile. Sunset, struck with fear, turned and leapt from the stage. She hit the ground hard and flew through the gym in full sprint. Her five minions followed out the door as Twilight and her crippled crew came together.

"What happened?" Fluttershy asked, covering her mouth with horror.

"We got into a little squander." Vinyl said, examining her bruised knuckles. "And we lost."

"That's not important now." Twilight said holding her phone to the side of her face and tapping her toe impatiently. "Sunset's getting away."

Meanwhile, dash and AJ were sitting in the Mustang, with there feet kicked up. AJ laughed victoriously as dash grunted with complaint.

"You've beat me twenty seven times straight." Dash said, counting on her fingers. "How did you get so good at Rock Paper Scissors?"

AJ lowered her hat over her eyes and placed her hands behind her head. "When a game is the prime way to win things from your two siblings, you get pretty good at it.

Dash crossed her arms and reclined in her seat with a huff. Just as she got comfortable, her phone began buzzing violently. She dug it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "It's Twilight." She said answering the phone. She put it on speaker phone just in time to hear her friend panicking into the mouth piece.

"Sunset's coming your way." Twilight said between fuzzy intervals. "She doesn't know you're out there, so you have time to react. You're looking for a black Suburban. Just keep her on campus." With that, the connection was cut, and the girls were left in a terrifying silence.

Dash looked over at AJ and found her squinting in speculation. "What are you thinking?" She asked.

"This ain't good." AJ said looking around. "They set up some sort of emp fence. No one's getting calls in or out of the campus.. Which means no one can call the cops."

"How do you know all this?" Dash asked with a bewildered expression.

"Not important. But I got a plan. When she gets out here, keep her on your tail. I'll be right behind you."

"AJ, what are you talking about." Dash said placing a hand on AJ's shoulder.

"Trust me." AJ said with her signature smile of pure honesty. "I'm an engineer." She patted Dash's hand with her own and opened the passenger door. She gave one last glance before climbing from the low car and sprinting across the parking lot, into the darkness.

Dash swallowed hard, then gave life to the car's powerful engine. As the car vibrated with throbbing energy, dash gripped the steering wheel tightly. 'Trust me. I'm an engineer.' She thought to herself. 'That girl is insane. Where has she been all my life?'


	16. Interruption

Sunset corralled her gang outside of the school. "Get in the truck." She said, roughly yanking open the driver side door. She got in and started the engine. "Come on!" She shouted as the student piled in the back.

The blue haired boy was in the passenger seat, toggling the radio stations and found nothing but static on each one. "The wall's still up." He reported. "We can make a clean get away as long you don't run us off the road." He said with a sly smile.

"Shut up, flash." Sunset ordered, throwing the SUV in gear. "I'm sure that know-it-all has something up her sleeve." Tired screeched as Sunset peeled out of her parking spot and sped across the parking lot.

"You guys." Snips said from the back row.

"Quiet you." Sunset said. "You're here for the ride."

"Ok." Snails said. "But you might wanna look behind us."

Sunset rolled her eyes and let them rest in the rearview mirror. Her vision was immediately lessened by a set of bright headlights. She groan with anger and turned sharply in the soccer field, her pursuer drifting in behind.

"What are you doing?" One of the young girls in the middle row asked.

"Don't worry about it." Sunset did donuts in the muddy field as the sky blue car struggled to stay in chase. Suddenly, the car came to a sliding stop. Sunset stopped her showcase, lining up the SUV toward the muscle car. With a grinning malevolently, she revved the engine dangerously.

Sunset prepared herself to release the machine just as a blinding light forced itself against her face. Holding up a shielding hand, she turned to see another set of headlights charging like an angry bull.

Sunset had no time to react before the larger vehicle thrusted itself into her own. The suburban was tossed aside like a toy, slamming Sunset's head against the window.

The girl in the vehicle which struck Sunset's stared at her wreckage, malice filling her blue eyes. "You guys!" Pinkie exclaimed, exiting her makeshift vehicle. "I made a float!"

Dash came running to Pinkie's side, and the two examined the capsized truck. It looked like at dead animal. The headlights shone bright, and the exhaust pipe spat a flow of gaseous pollution into the warm air.

Pinkie's expression turned from red with rage to a horrid paleness. She turned to dash and merely whispered. "I think I killed them. I didn't mean to kill. I only meant to maim.. Or seriously injure."

"Calm down Pinkie." Dash said with a soothing hand on Pinkie's shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine."

The banter was interrupted by a rusted red pickup truck rolling into the field. The cabin contained a driver and a passenger, and in the back sat six other young girls. The truck was emptied, and its passengers rushed to meet their comrades.

"You crashed their car?" AJ said marching through swampy terrain. "I said stop them not crash them."

"I know!" pinkie said dropping to her knees. "And now they're all dead, and it's all my fault!"

"Pull yourself together Pinkie." Twilight said as she neared the SUV, with caution. The front of the truck had caved in so much that the hood was almost touching the untrimmed grass. All the glass was shattered except that of the rear windshield and farthest-back windows which were severely cracked.

Twilight crouched down and peered into the window of the middle row. She saw young girl whom had been on the stage in the gym. As she hung from her seat limply, she slowly looked over at Twilight, and her eyes widened with fear. "I'm innocent." She said defensively. "I was just doing what she said."

"I'm sure." Twilight said sarcastically. "Get out."

The freshman unbuckled her seatbelt and fell to the ceiling with a thud. She scurried out of the window on the other side and immediately found herself surrounded by older girls.

Twilight crawled into the truck and found other culprits dropping from their seats. They all exited and surrendered themselves to the captivity of the girls around the vehicle.

Finally Twilight was alone in the truck except for the silent driver. Twilight peeked around the driver seat, prepared for the worst. She found Sunset sitting on the ceiling. She leaned against the upside down seat and cradled her legs with one arm while turning the steering wheel routinely with the other.

Twilight tried to register something to say but could think if nothing. Sunset spoke instead. "I liked this truck." She said with monotone emotion. Hearing no response from Twilight, she turned her head to face her.

Twilight gasped at the sight. Sunset had attained a large gash on the left side of her forehead. Blood ran down her hairline in a steady stream. "Come on Sunset." Twilight said in an attempt to be soothing. "We can help you."

Sunset sighed and crawled from the car. She stood in the tall grass, giving each of her enemies a deadly glare. She refused to see the day these girls would spoil her plan.


	17. Blaze of Glory

"Give up yet?" Twilight asked walking up and down the row of delinquents. They all stood stone faced, smothered in bandages and ointments except for Sunset who had refused to become subject to Fluttershy's treatment despite her critical injury.

In response to Twilight's question, Sunset only scoffed. "I'm never giving up." She said looking deep into Twilight's eyes with an inhumane hatred. "As soon as I get out of this dump, I've got bigger plans than a pathetic high school. I'll gain millions from suckers like Celestia who run more important businesses."

Twilight nodded at sunset ambitions. "You have a death wish you, know that? Those guys." Twilight extended a finger to Snips and Snails as she spoke. "They know what juvenile detention is like. I suppose you'll all know before long."

"Congratulations on your arrests, Twilight." Sunset said with a sarcastic catch. "Where are you gonna put your plaque."

Twilight came closer to Sunset, chuckling lightly. "I don't know." She said standing directly in front of Sunset. "I was thinking right next to your participation award."

Sunset spit at Twilight angrily. Having caught a large wad in the face, sunset stumbled back, wiping it away and laughing. The other girls stepped in to restrain Sunset. "Calm down, girls." Twilight said, still stifling laughter. "She presents no harm."

As the two groups of girls stood on their own sides of an ocean of awkwardness, the principals presented themselves from behind the SUV. "Hello, everyone." Celestia said with a peculiar warmth. "It appears you've made quite a mess out here."

"Hello, principal." Twilight said, strolling toward her superior. "Sorry for the chaos. On the bright side, no one was seriously injured, and we have all the wrong-doers in our custody."

"Good job, Twilight." Celestia said wrapping an arm around her pupil which was awarded a groan from Sunset. "If you would be so kind: escort this little gang to the front of the school where authorities will be waiting. Leave Miss Shimmer. Luna and I would like her to join as in a little walk."

"I'd be glad to." Twilight said with a beaming smile which disappeared as soon as her principal turned away. Celestia held an arm out to her left, signaling Sunset to walk in the direction. As the three walked away from the field and into the darkness, Twilight watched untrustingly. "I'm following them." She said with her back turned to her friends.

"Are you sure?" Dash asked from somewhere behind Twilight.

"Yes, I'm sure." Twilight said squinting to track the figures, slowly moving away. "Take them to the front of the school. I'll be there soon. I just have a bad feeling."

"Come on girls." Bon Bon said, staring off the field in reverse. "She knows what she's doing."

Without speaking, the rest of the crew marched of the field, the felons walking ahead. Finally, twilight was left alone in the soggy field. She took a deep breath and began jogging toward the school in the direction the principals had disappeared.

After a few minutes of light jogging, the the principals and sunset came into view. They were entering the school through a side door less than a dozen meters away. Twilight, sprinted to the the door, silently as she could and caught it just before it closed.

Twilight crept into the building, letting the door close behind her. She followed close behind the trio, careful to take quiet steps.

"I don't understand." Celestia said calmly. "Why would you want to do this?"

"It's complicated." Sunset said. Twilight could tell she wore a sly smile. "My days of being teacher's pet are over."

"What do you plan on doing with your life?" Luna asked sternly. "You'll get out of high school with a criminal record and no diploma."

"You don't need a diploma for my career path, and records only help." Sunset said placing her hands in her pockets.

Luna turned her head to sunset. "What are you-"

"Robberies." Celestia interrupted, looking straight ahead. "Maybe drug stores as a start. Then banks. An interesting choice. High risk; high rewards."

Sunset stopped and nodded her head, looking up at Celestia. "Clever." She said pointing a finger. The principals stopped walking as well and turned toward her. Twilight took cover behind a wall to avoid detection. "Not clever enough." Sunset continued. "I'm sorry it had to end this way."

Suddenly, there was a silence so strong, twilight could hear her own heart beating slowly. She decided to investigate the lack if dialogue and crept her head around the corner. The sight she was met with took her breath away. Sunset stood with her, facing away from twilight, with her right arms extended to the shocked principals.

Twilight stood, watching at a loss of what to do. Her mind was blank, but her body seemed to know what had to be done. She found herself rounding the corner and sprinting toward Sunset. Before she knew what was happening, she tackled Sunset. As the two seniors collapsed, a handgun slid away.

Sunset forced Twilight off of her and dived to the weapon. She rolled on her back pointed first at Twilight then at the principals. "Get out of here!" She yelled, waving the gun in their direction. They wasted no time stumbling down the hall.

Sunset stood and looked at Twilight who standing with her hands raised, defensively. "Don't look at me like that." Sunset said, raising the gun.

"Sorry?" Twilight said in a confused tone.

Sunset sighed, holding the gun in front of her with both hands. "For a straight A student, that wasn't very smart."


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello readers! I decided to put in a bit of an update on this chapter. First, I just wanted to say all the cliche stuff; thanks for supporting me and giving me a reason to keep going. Blah blah. Next, I wanted to say that the story is scheduled to have 21 chapters, so we're nearly to our finale. Lastly, there's something important. There's been some misconceptions about the plot and characters, so I wanted to clear that up ASAP.**

**First and for most, the story is set in the human world. No magic, no flying. Check? Ok, next I'll mention that this story has almost no relevance to the actual movies. The plot and characters veer off in direction completely separate from the events of Equestria Girls and Rainbow Rocks.**

**That's pretty much it. Remember, comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. Ask any questions and make any suggestions. Thanks again, and enjoy the story!**

Sunset and Twilight stood only feet apart. Sunset sniffed heavily and stepped closer. "Turn around." She ordered with an odd, scratchy voice.

Twilight obliged.

" your hands on your head." Sunset said, a strange emotion developing in her voice.

Twilight raised her hands and placed them on the back of her head. She turned her head, attempting to steal a glance at Sunset's face.

"Don't look at me!" on your knees."

Twilight whipped her head forward and slowly dropped to her knees. She heard Sunset sniffle again as she stepped closer. A blunt, metal object made contact with the back of Twilight's skull and did not pull away. The tip of the object shook lightly for a moment, then Sunset yanked it back and began to speak.

"You don't understand, Twilight." Sunset said with a shaking voice. "You don't understand what it's like to be betrayed by your mentor."

Twilight suddenly remembered everything Celestia had told her so long ago. "Is that your definition of betrayal?" Twilight asked softly. "A mentor that doesn't follow your rules?"

"She's a mentor that only ever follows her own rules!" Sunset shouted back. "She made me feel small! Useless!"

"Is that all this stunt was?" Twilight shot back, raising her own voice as she stood and turned to Sunset. "You're just tricking yourself into believing you have power!"

"This is power! It's all the power Celestia had over me for all those years!"

"Just stop and think. Is this really what you want?"

Sunset only let out a girlish giggle. "This is exactly what I want." She stepped closer to Twilight, who drew back half as far. "I want everyone in this pathetic excuse for an education facility to fall to their knees. And it doesn't stop there."

Twilight held her ground as sunset came even closer. "You're a lunatic." She said as Sunset forged her way into her comfort zone.

Sunset stopped suddenly with her nose nearly touching Twilight's. At this distance Twilight could tell Sunset was flustered and had moist eyes. She felt Sunset's warm breath when she spoke. "I don't want to be this person." Sunset said more shakily than before. "I've always been the bad guy. It's who I am."

Sunset was only slightly taller than twilight, so as one looked down a bit and the other looked up, their eyes locked with ease. "You're wrong. You don't have to be this way. You can be whoever you want to be."

"I'm afraid it's too late for words of wisdom, Miss Sparkle." Sunset said slowly. "I've accepted my path. You should too."

Twilight opened her mouth to disagree, but was interrupted by the soft lips of Sunset Shimmer. Before she could pull away, Sunset grasped Twilight's forearm, pulling her in ever so gently. Without much more objection, Twilight allowed her eyes to slide closed and wrapped her arms around Sunset's waist.

The kiss slowly became more heated as the girls' hands explored each other's bodies. They kissed for a while, enjoying each other's gentle presence until Sunset pulled away. She looked into the shorter girl's eyes and was obviously near tears. She came close to Twilight and whispered almost inaudibly, "I'm sorry."

Before Twilight had time ask why, her question was answered and her eyes and mouth shot open. She was overtaken with a feeling she had never felt before. She applied pressure to her stomach with the hand that wasn't clinging to Sunset for support. She felt something hard and oddly shaped as well has a thick, warm liquid.

Looking down, her fears were confirmed as she realized the object was the handle of a blade which had been injected into Twilight. Blood stained Twilight's purple blouse as she looked up at her attacker. Sunset was failing to hold back tears as she gently guided Twilight into a nearby class room. Once inside, Sunset gently lowered Twilight to the ground and remained crouched beside her.

To Twilight, the world was now a blurry aura of colors, spinning spastically around Sunset's tear stained face. Sunset's speech echoed in Twilight's head. "Sleep well, princess friendship." She said. Sunset kissed Twilight's cheek as tears fell from her eyes.

Twilight's eyes began to turn pale and slide closed. Sunset watched now beginning to sob uncontrollably. Suddenly, the door of the classroom burst open, granting entrance to the two principals. Each held a submachine gun and a look of brave readiness.

"Wh- were did those come from?" Sunset asked, fearfully.

"We came prepared." Luna answered crouching next to Twilight. She examined the student before slowly looking up at Sunset. "What have you done?" She asked.

Sunset backed away slowly shaking her head. "I didn't want to.. I just.. I'm sorry."

"Who have you become?" Celestia said, her own eyes growing moist.

"I didn't want to kill her!" Sunset screamed her voice scratchy from tears and previous shouting. She dropped to her knees next to Twilight. "I didn't want her to die."

"There will be severe consequences for these actions." Celestia said with a monotone voice and a stony face.

"I don't care. Just save her. Call an ambulance. I don't want her die." Sunset leaned over Twilight and tried to slow her bleeding. She looked up at the principals with a desperate and scared look."Please." She begged. "Don't let her die."


End file.
